Commitment is a funny word. For years as a single male, I feared that word. Or did I pretend to fear that word when in fact I wanted commitment all along? Being in a fun marriage with a beautiful wife and the cutest daugther I could imagine, commitment is certainly not a thing to be scared of.
But what about commitment to work? Or better yet, commitment to working hard? Is that something people fear or are they just not willing to put in the effort?
A recent blog post by Kathy Hanbury discussed content strategy and her steps in how to make the process less difficult. The steps she outlined are the right process and if you actually take out the word content, they can work for any marketing, communications or related initiative. What really stood out to me though was this quote:
"It's not hard to figure out what needs to be done. The challenge is in mustering the commitment and will power to do it."
This is so right on so many levels. Personally, I think it always comes down to effort. Whether it's being successful in digital marketing and social media, in sports, in content strategy, in relationships, in your work or in anything in life. Not everyone puts in the effort and nearly everyone has a lapse in effort at some point. Many times, commitment - an actual, real concerted commitment to make something better - and effort is what puts some people ahead on the depth chart. Are you putting in the effort and commitment?
October 25, 2010
October 11, 2010
The Structure of Success
About a month back, I caught via Twitter a blog post by a former Twitter employee, Alex Payne. He shared his thoughts about the #newtwitter, the site's role changing in users' lives and that it would be his last post about Twitter. Great read, but what really caught my attention were two quotes about decentralization.
"Twitter needs to decentralize or it will die. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even in a decade, but it was (and, I think, remains) my belief that all communications media will inevitably be decentralized"
"Decentralization isn’t just a better architecture, it’s an architecture that resists censorship and the corrupting influences of capital and marketing."
Both statements may be a little foreboding, but they are grounded in aspects of reality. While Alex was focusing on the decentralization of Twitter as a business versus a medium, the centralization versus decentralization argument has been going on within organizations for decades. In my world, the debate has been within the marketing function of a business.
A centrally shared services group allows for collaboration and consistency. They can streamline messaging and branding. The group can identify and leverage best practices, maximize efficiencies in operations and resources, and minimize any duplication of communication efforts and service purchases.
The decentralized units hold the knowledge and expertise for their respective business and most understand their audience. They are product experts and market specialists. They truly own the content and marketing programs that can deliver on meeting business goals.
I've been in marketing organizations that have been centralized and in ones that have been decentralized; and in an organization that has been both at different times. You can find success in either, but the ideal organizational structure is a hybrid model. It can provide the benefits of each without many of the cons. This is where I have seen the best of both worlds come together.
It is difficult to deliver on though. Much of it depends on the culture and the people within the organization. Both need to be collaborative. If successful, a hybrid of centralized and decentralized services leads to a coordinated, yet empowered organization. It will be the structure of which most organizations will need to be to succeed in the near future.
"Twitter needs to decentralize or it will die. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even in a decade, but it was (and, I think, remains) my belief that all communications media will inevitably be decentralized"
"Decentralization isn’t just a better architecture, it’s an architecture that resists censorship and the corrupting influences of capital and marketing."
Both statements may be a little foreboding, but they are grounded in aspects of reality. While Alex was focusing on the decentralization of Twitter as a business versus a medium, the centralization versus decentralization argument has been going on within organizations for decades. In my world, the debate has been within the marketing function of a business.
A centrally shared services group allows for collaboration and consistency. They can streamline messaging and branding. The group can identify and leverage best practices, maximize efficiencies in operations and resources, and minimize any duplication of communication efforts and service purchases.
The decentralized units hold the knowledge and expertise for their respective business and most understand their audience. They are product experts and market specialists. They truly own the content and marketing programs that can deliver on meeting business goals.
I've been in marketing organizations that have been centralized and in ones that have been decentralized; and in an organization that has been both at different times. You can find success in either, but the ideal organizational structure is a hybrid model. It can provide the benefits of each without many of the cons. This is where I have seen the best of both worlds come together.
It is difficult to deliver on though. Much of it depends on the culture and the people within the organization. Both need to be collaborative. If successful, a hybrid of centralized and decentralized services leads to a coordinated, yet empowered organization. It will be the structure of which most organizations will need to be to succeed in the near future.
August 8, 2010
I Was Thinking About Quitting
Blogging. What were you thinking?
I just have not kept up with it like I had hoped and imagined. Yes, work life is busy. Yes, home life is busy, especially with our beautiful, 7-week baby girl. Despite all that, I had hoped to manage my time efficiently and be able to write...mainly for my own entertainment...but also hoping someone, maybe my mom, would go online and read this.
Then, I read a blog post recently, Mitch Joel's Blogging Still Matters...Now More than Ever, that motivated me to just continue to do what I'm doing...at my own pace. Some of the quotes from Seth Godin and Tom Peter really resonated with me on a personal blogging level. In the workplace, I've always been an advocate for how important blogging is to managing a truly effective online presence. For many organizations, blogs are THE source of content creation. But personal blogging? With the ability to share ideas and thoughts via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and comment sections of much better bloggers' blogs, I sometimes wonder how often I'll need this outlet for writing or sharing ideas.
Upon starting it, I really wasn't sure how long I'd be doing this or how frequently I'd want to do it. Even when the posts, like this one, happen infrequently and might not have the impact I intended. All I know is that, even during the few times I do it, I enjoy doing it...and that's all that matters.
I just have not kept up with it like I had hoped and imagined. Yes, work life is busy. Yes, home life is busy, especially with our beautiful, 7-week baby girl. Despite all that, I had hoped to manage my time efficiently and be able to write...mainly for my own entertainment...but also hoping someone, maybe my mom, would go online and read this.
Then, I read a blog post recently, Mitch Joel's Blogging Still Matters...Now More than Ever, that motivated me to just continue to do what I'm doing...at my own pace. Some of the quotes from Seth Godin and Tom Peter really resonated with me on a personal blogging level. In the workplace, I've always been an advocate for how important blogging is to managing a truly effective online presence. For many organizations, blogs are THE source of content creation. But personal blogging? With the ability to share ideas and thoughts via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and comment sections of much better bloggers' blogs, I sometimes wonder how often I'll need this outlet for writing or sharing ideas.
Upon starting it, I really wasn't sure how long I'd be doing this or how frequently I'd want to do it. Even when the posts, like this one, happen infrequently and might not have the impact I intended. All I know is that, even during the few times I do it, I enjoy doing it...and that's all that matters.
June 18, 2010
Is Pending Fatherhood Making Me Sentimental?
Every now and then, I've been known to track some of my commute's set lists as I ride home and tune from radio station to radio station. I know, I'm strange.
Well, I tracked a commute this week and it was quite different than most. I was listening to songs that I would skip right over in past situations. With brief intervals of sports talk radio, the songs were:
Well, I tracked a commute this week and it was quite different than most. I was listening to songs that I would skip right over in past situations. With brief intervals of sports talk radio, the songs were:
- Father Figure - George Michael (Tough to pass up a song from this album)
- Kiss from a Rose - Seal (I have never once listened to this song before)
- Sometimes When We Touch - Dan Hill (Ditto. I swear)
- We’re Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
- Blurry - Puddle of Mudd
- Pride (In the Name of Love) - U2
- Halfway Gone - Lifehouse
- Heaven - Bryan Adams
- 1901 - Phoenix (I feel like I ended on a good note)
June 15, 2010
There's A Reason I'm Not Pregnant
I'm male. And thank god for that. I have truly seen why the female gender is the stronger one. There would be no human race if this monumental task was up to us. I get allergies and I complain.
I've seen many friends, colleagues, relatives and even my sister go through a pregnancy, but you never quite understand its complexity until you see someone go through it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 9/10 months. I owe another congratulations to every single one of you...through a different lens.
This has been quite the ride and we are close, but not quite there yet. Likely just a few days away. You learn SO much during this stage in your life that I can't imagine how much more I could possibly learn in the coming weeks after our daughter's birth...but I know there is still much learning to come.
I like to think that I've always respected women to a high degree, but seeing what they go through has been amazing. I'm already so proud of my wife and I know that will only grow over the next few days, weeks and years ahead.
I've seen many friends, colleagues, relatives and even my sister go through a pregnancy, but you never quite understand its complexity until you see someone go through it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 9/10 months. I owe another congratulations to every single one of you...through a different lens.
This has been quite the ride and we are close, but not quite there yet. Likely just a few days away. You learn SO much during this stage in your life that I can't imagine how much more I could possibly learn in the coming weeks after our daughter's birth...but I know there is still much learning to come.
I like to think that I've always respected women to a high degree, but seeing what they go through has been amazing. I'm already so proud of my wife and I know that will only grow over the next few days, weeks and years ahead.
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